The Slice Discovering Real Meaning Of Christmas

A friend in Post Falls told about how, once when she was a little girl, she checked out the presents beneath an artificial Christmas tree on display in a department store.

She discovered that the brightly wrapped packages were empty.

So when her parents announced plans to get a fake tree that year, she panicked. “I thought having a fake tree meant you got fake presents,” she recalled.

She explained all this to her folks. So they opted for a real tree, a tall Scotch pine.

O Come, All Ye Typos: Spot the song-lyrics error that recently appeared in a local church’s bulletin.

Sing, choirs of angels, Sing in exultation!

Sin, all ye citizens of heaven above!

Dim bulbs: “He’s a few huckleberries short of a pie.”

“He has a Cherokee, but it sits in the carport.” - Doug Griffiths

Kid stuff: We heard about a local boy who couldn’t wait for his mom to set up the Christmas “Activity set.”

He meant “Nativity.”

Then there was the 4-year-old lad who was being cranky one recent morning. His mother warned him that Santa might not approve of his behavior. And the boy, having noted the weather, said it was too foggy for Santa to see him.

Speaking of Santa, a 5-year-old Spokane boy recently decided that he wanted to head up to the North Pole and enlist as an elf. He told his mom he would need two sandwiches.

Maybe one was for the flying reindeer he was counting on to provide him with transportation.

And finally, kindergarten teacher Ginny Ressel told about how this one 5-year-old girl approached her at her desk recently and asked, “Mrs. Ressel, where do you work?”

Anyone frustrated with an HMO: Will enjoy one particular scene in the movie “As Good As It Gets.”

Slice answers: The secret ingredient in North Idaho fruitcake? Four readers said “gunpowder.”

In the matter of how different neighborhoods would respond to Christmas carolers, answers ranged from “The dogs would bark even more than usual” to “Someone would call the cops.”

One reader said an SUV designed for the Inland Northwest might be called the “Logging Truck.”

And another suggested that space aliens visiting Spokane would discover that residents are suspicious of sophistication.

Today’s Slice question: If you were directing a Christmas pageant, would you cast an actual baby or a doll to play the role of the newborn?

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: The Slice appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; fax (509) 459-5098. In all fairness, we should note that those Post Office stickers often attached to postcards are designed to peel off.

The Slice appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; fax (509) 459-5098. In all fairness, we should note that those Post Office stickers often attached to postcards are designed to peel off.